Taking it to new heights

My group of best girlfriends and I always celebrate each other's birthdays. The birthday girl gets to chose the activity and the rest of the girls (there are 7 of us total) must go along and participate. Best intentions are made to pick a date that everyone can make, but inevitably, there will be one or two who have something else going on.

For as long as I can remember I have picked going to a movie and either doing lunch beforehand or dinner after. I was known in the group for my zany indie film choices that no one had a desire to see but me. But no more! It's always good to challenge yourself and move out of your comfort zone. This year, I decided we were going to try rock climbing. Alexandria, VA offers an indoor rock climbing gym called Sportrock. Five of us were able to come together and give this a shot. There was a 2 hour basic skills instruction class and then they let you loose the rest of the time to test out your new skills.

What a thrill this was! The building is covered with rock climbing walls that range from 22 feet to 40 feet high. Some walls are more challenging than others and offer cliffs and overhangs that you have to scale 2/3rds of the way up. In addition to the challenge of moving to a dizzying height, the hand and footholds are spaced sporadically apart and it takes major upper body strength to keep going, while trying to figure out the quickest and easiest place to put your foot and keep from slipping.

Since we weren't certified in 'belaying', one of us was the back-up spotter to the person who was doing the belay. There was a particularly funny moment when it was my turn to rock climb and Wendy was going to belay me. Kristin was the spotter for Wendy. We doubled and tripled checked everyone's ropes, knots and holds to make sure we were good to go. I got ready to start the climb and turned around to make certain Wendy was in position. Who did I see wearing the helmet? Kristin. We were so caught up in making sure everything was done correctly, that we forgot to transfer the helmet to my head. Although, if I did fall on her, I am sure she would've wanted protection from my body plummeting on top of hers.

We had a great time. And of course, when the girls get together, always some good laughs.